UCLA pitcher Ally Carda is 31-6 with a 2.27 ERA for the seventh-seeded Bruins (50-10) going into their Women's College World Series opener against Oregon.

UCLA's Delaney Spaulding is hitting .508 and leads the seventh-seeded Bruins in doubles (18), home runs (20), runs scored (68) and RBI (71) going into their Women's College World Series opener against No. 2 seed Oregon on Thursday night.

UCLA's Mysha Sataraka is hitting .364 with seven home runs and 29 RBI going into the team's Women's College World Series opener against No. 2 seed Oregon on Thursday night.

UCLA's Stephany LaRosa is hitting .380 with 19 home runs and 69 RBI going into the team's Women's College World Series opener against No. 2 seed Oregon on Thursday night.

The tandem traces their history to high school, roughly five years ago, when the two played for the Orange County Batbusters, an 18-and-under travel club based in Anaheim. Their story didn’t stop there.

Spaulding (Etiwanda High) and Bennett (Troy) have played a key role in Westwood this season, helping the Bruins (50-10), one of the nation’s most storied softball programs, end their five-year Women’s College World Series drought.

To begin the eight-team, double-elimination WCWS tournament, 11-time national champion UCLA, making its first appearance since 2010, meets Pac-12 rival Oregon (51-6) in their first game on Thursday, scheduled for 6:30 p.m.. The game is to be televised from Oklahoma City on ESPN2.

“It’s the product of a lot of hard work and experience,” said Bruins coach Kelly Inouye-Perez, who headed the program during the 2010 run, which was also the last time UCLA captured an NCAA title.

Spaulding steps to the plate with some power, perhaps carrying an usual amount of it for a leadoff hitter. She belted 20 home runs this season and carried a Pac-12-best .891 slugging percentage.

“She’s a stud,” Bennett said of her longtime teammate.

“Delaney has done a great job of finding a way to get on base and even been able to get on the board,” Inouye-Perez said. “She can get a hold of the ball.”

That has helped UCLA get out to early leads. In the second game of the NCAA super regional at Easton Stadium last weekend, a clinching 10-6 win over Missouri, Spaulding hit a two-run homer to right in the second inning to build a comfortable 4-1 lead. They never trailed after that point.

“She does a great job of delivering that first punch,” Inouye-Perez said.

Behind her is Bennett, who is every bit as dangerous. Named a first-team national All-American on Wednesday, the left-handed batter is second in the country with a .514 batting average.

Only eight times in 60 games this spring has she left a game hitless.

“She’s what you call a triple threat,” Inouye-Perez said. “She has the ability to put a bunt down. She can slap the ball and hit a high chop, which is very difficult to defend. And she can also hit the ball over the outfielder’s head. Combine that with the speed she has, she’s very difficult to defend against.”

“A true triple threat is not easy to find in our game,” she continued,” because either they’re really powerful or they’re really fast. For her to have all three is definitely unique.”

The last time that UCLA faced Oregon was at home in early April. The Bruins dropped two of three games, including the rubber match where they lost in five innings, 10-0. It was hardly a memorable weekend, but they hope to replicate game one of that regular-season series when senior pitcher Ally Carda pitched seven strong innings. Carda surrendered just two hits and one run in an 8-1 victory.

Carda will start on Thursday against the Ducks, when it matters most.

“We’ve both seen each other,” Carda said, “so it’s just being able to throw good pitches, make my stuff move. I have a good defense behind me and hopefully are bats are as hot as they’ve been.”

And the bats have been hot lately. In May, UCLA is 9-2 and has averaged eight runs per game, reaching 10 runs on four occasions.

They’ll see if their run of success can continue.

“It’s always a tough road to get to Oklahoma,” Bennett said. “Now that we’re here, we’re going to be in the moment and take it one pitch at a time.”

Joey Kaufman is the USC beat writer for the Southern California News Group. Since joining the Orange County Register in 2015, he has also covered Major League Baseball and UCLA athletics. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors and Football Writers Association of America. Kaufman grew up in beautiful downtown Burbank.

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